Current conductors are available in many configurations and variants. Current sensors, which detect the magnetic field generated by the current, are packed in a conventional IC housing and in which the current conductor through which the current to be measured flows is guided through the housing, are known for example from U.S. Pat. No. 7,129,691, WO 2005026749, WO 2006130393 and US 2010156394. Such current sensors contain a current conductor which is arranged as a part of the leadframe, which is used for mounting and producing the electrical terminals, and a semiconductor chip mounted on the leadframe, which chip comprises at least one magnetic field sensor and the electronics required for its operation and for the processing of its output signal.
Since the current conductor guided through the housing has a relatively small cross-section and comprises an even further reduced cross section in the region of the magnetic field sensors in order to increase the current density there and therefore the magnetic field locally, the heat produced by the power dissipation in the current conductor leads to heating of the current sensor, which produces undesirable drift fluctuations of the magnetic field sensors. The current conductor and the electronics integrated in the semiconductor chip need to be electrically insulated from each other, wherein a predetermined dielectric strength is required by the installation which is typically 2 to 4 kV.